Latissimus Dorsi Breast Reconstruction
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Gigilala
Sorry to hear your troubles. I had lat flap one side only after skin was too thin and circulation was compromised but PS inserted silicone implant in at time of surgery not another TE. I honestly had very little pain, didn't even take pain meds but for a day or so. I had two drains as well!
Of course you are going to have an incision scar on back or side somewhere. And my surgeon used some of my own skin for extra coverage on the exterior of my breast. But there weren't incisions and scars everywhere.
You might want to scream a bit louder if you are in much pain at this juncture and it's not related to the drains. Those can sometimes cause a pinching but just in armpit area!
I'm one of the few on these boards that didn't (knock wood) have a bad experience with lat flap. It was a salvage situation and not something I had done at initial BMX with tissue expander placement.
I wish you much healing!!
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thank u ladies
I have an appointment with my surgeon tomorrow
I will talk to him about my pain my discomfort
I hope he will remove the last drains
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I'm having BMX and lat flap next week. I'm pretty excited about it.
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Hi heatherautumn, Good luck with your upcoming surgery! I am 7 weeks post op BMX with bilateral lat flap surgery. It was a big op but I have now resumed 90% of my normal activities. I went back to yoga 2 weeks ago and last week was able to do weight bearing poses like downward dog with no problem. The tightness is mostly gone now and I am feeling really good and positive about the results so far. One thing that I did that I am sure helped a lot was to do my exercises religiously a few times a day as prescribed by the physio. Everyday I could feel a bit more of my range of motion coming back, and it helped physically and mentally.
Let us know how you go, and take care
Wink
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Heatherautumn-
Wink probably has the most relevant experience similiar to your upcoming surgery. But I’m here as well if you need to bounce anything off on someone.
Blessings to you on a successful and unremarkable event!!
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Heatherautumn, if you don't mind me asking, why did you choose to have this type of recon? Your signature doesn't show rads.
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Seachain, I had stomach surgery years ago so I can't have the belly flap (whatever it's called).
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OK - I'm really new and I think this is my first post! I haven't filled out all the details in my signature, but I'll list here. Stage 2 BC 11/99, right breast, lumpectomy, 2 lymph nodes involved. Chemo and radiation on right breast. In April 2018 I found a lump on my right breast - high up - near the breast bone. Basically, the same type, HR+. Due to the radiation all those years ago, I had to have a mastectomy and opted for BMX. Tried the tissue expander in both breasts. Left side just fine - right side rejected. I'm scheduled to have the latissimus dorsi flap done on Friday. I'm not really concerned, just wondering how hard it is to get in a comfortable position to sleep and sit if you have the incision on your back.
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Jor
I had lat flap (on right side only) after poor result with tissue expander! My scar from donor site is between back and underarm. Maybe 4 inches long. It never caused me pain sitting or sleeping.
This surgery for me was a non-event. I had a small silicone implant placed as a place holder until my exchange surgery was performed at the end of September. I had nerve blocker placed at time of surgery; but that wears off after 72 hours.
The only pain med I took was Toredol, but as I recall I only took for a day or so. My surgery was very easeful my right side blood flow and coverage looked betterimmediately better after procedure.
Good luck and lmk if you have any other questions!
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Heatherautumn, that's not the point. If you didn't have rads, your skin can expand, so you can go the simpler way without sacrificing muscles.
Jor, if you have a recliner that's your bet, if not, you'll need a ton of pillows. The ideal position to get some sleep with minimal discomfort is pretty much half propped up, with soft support on your back.
Also, very important, get a thin pillow ready for the car ride home, to hold on your chest, it will do wonders when it comes to the seat belt.
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Thank you for the replies! My hubby got us an adjustable sleep number bed just before my BMX so I have that advantage! He's a gem.
I'm hoping this goes smoothly.!
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Seachain, I appreciate your concern. After talking with my plastic surgeon, this is my best option. I'm not a small person (6 feet tall, size 18) and my current breasts are very large (42 l). I need tissue and muscle in order to build a foundation. The largest implant alone would be way too small for my body. I can't use my stomach and don't want to use my hips or butt. This is my best option and I'm pretty confident going forward.
Thanks for the advice about the car pillow and recliner! That will help!
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Surgery done. Holy cow, my boobs look amazing! I'm so happy. (FYI, when they took off my breasts they weighed 5lbs each!) I am so excited to have them gone. My lat flap worked perfectly so far due to the amount of tissue on my back. It's a pretty painful recovery. I'm spending night 3 in the hospital now and hope to go home tomorrow if my pain is managed well.
I had chemo before surgery, but one of my nodes tested positive for cancer so I will need radiation. I only had 3 total nodes removed, so hopefully that will help me avoid lymphedema.
So, there's my update!
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Yay! Awesome! It is pretty amazing what these surgeons can do. How they even think of it, let's take this back muscle, tunnel through the armpit and turn it into a boob. Yeah, why not? And it looks great! My recovery from the lat flap surgery was pretty easy, but I only had the one side done. Hopefully yours proceeds smoothly!
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Heatherautumn-
Glad to hear you are doing well. Three days in hospital- Wow
I hope your recovery continues to go full speed ahead! It takes some extra time to get back ROM and strength but it happens. I’m working with PT now and I love it. I feel fantastic.
Positive and healing vibes coming your way Heather!!
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Heatherautumn
I hope your pain is managed well today so you can go home. I spent 2 nights for this and a small fever i developed, gotta love 6 ft buff guy RN's lol.
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I'm home and slept really well in my recliner! I just have to keep on top of the pain meds, then I am ok. Now just waiting to poop LOL!!!! It's weird to not have any support/binder/compression garment. I guess they just need to fly free. So weird. I don't have giant boobs swinging by my knees!
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Heather
Amazing you are sleeping well.
On the “going” front. If you like artichoke hearts, have someone sautée you some up in olive oil with lemon and herbs! Trust me.
Keep healing.
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I'm 3 weeks post-op. Just got 3 of 4 drains pulled today and I feel like a new woman! Still sore and tight, but not too bad. It's weird....the skin from my back is a totally different texture than breast skin, so be new boobs feel so weird! My only worry so far is the hardness and tissue under my arm - it's like a weird extension of my breasts...like they want to go back to where they came from! Surgeon said he's not concerned and all will be fine after the exchange is done in a few months. My back is healing well and I'm struck by my improved posture with the extra 10lbs of breast tissue gone! My neck pain is gone!
Unfortunately, I need to go back for more surgery on Wednesday. My nodes had a false negative when tested in the OR so she only removed three. The pathology came back positive afterward. So I will have an axial node dissection Wed, and hopefully it won't be too complicated due to the new reconstruction.
So, that's my lat flap update. I'm hanging in there and pretty satisfied so far!
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Congrats on getting drains out...such a big step in healing:)
Good luck with your surgery, heatherautumn. Great to hear that you are feeling so well. I am almost 3 months post op and feeling really good. I found that my recovery accelerated after week 4
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Hello,
I had expanders removed and implants with R side Latissimus Dorsi flap 5/22/18. I had to have my implants replaced to a wider size with repositioning on 10/1/18.
I have numbness to both arms and now my Left side is drooping-the scar line now faces down, its also painful right in the middle. Saw the Nurse at my PS office, she took pics and said they would see me in 3 months. I am seriously considering the Diep flap. Has anyone went form implants with one sided LD flap to Diep?
Thank you for your time
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In hindsight I would never use my lats for reconstruction. My back will never be the same. As I have gotten older, my traps and upper back must work harder to keep me erect. I had my reconstruction when I was 53 and I'm 64 now. After hearing stories about tissue expanders, I'm not so sure I made the wrong decision, but those women still have an intact back. Whenever I can, I tell women not to do that kind of reconstruction. I hope this helps someone.
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Same here. I was 48, will be 58 in a month, and as time goes by it's just getting worse and worse.
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My biggest problem right now is my posture. I'm hoping once I get my exchange surgery it will improve. My shoulders roll forward, so I'm trying to keep up with my PT exercises. I can't wait for radiation to be done so I can get my exchange! I loathe my expanders!
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Heatherautumn-
Are you doing strength training combined with stretching as your PT regime? This has helped me immensely with all of the surgeries I’ve had over past year and a half. Especially in the rotator cuff area.
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Thanks! Stretching and PT for sure. I'm also really hoping that things will be better after my TE/implant exchange. Everything looks great, just trying strengthen my back to help my posture.
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Thank you for this thread and for everyone who has shared their experiences. I just had a bilateral masectomy on Friday with no reconstruction. I need radiation and didnt want TE. I am not a candidate for DIEP and two PS recommended LD flap but it sounded so complicated I chose to just be flat. My breasts dont define me and its unfortunate how we as women suffer so much to have boobs. It's a personal choice and I respect that. I'm just not willing to risk so much for boobs. Yes my chest looks deformed but I'm alive and that's what matters to me. Good luck to everyone whose having this surgery. Wishing smooth recovery to all.
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I had the LD flap in 2007. I would never recommend it to anyone. I don't want to go on and on about the various reasons, but I'll say that I forever altered my back and I'm very sorry about that. We do make decisions to achieve certain ends, but the ends don't always seem so important now, 11 years later. I also have silicone implants, which I don't regret. It's not an easy decision. I had sought out advice from friends and at the time, the LD flap seemed the best option, but now I think very differently. But as some have said, I'm here and that's what matters most.
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Two years less than you (2009) but I second that whole heartedly. The thing is that things get worse as time goes by, be it poor posture due to the muscle not being there to keep your spine straight, and all the degenerative changes that start happening, to strength going away little by little every day, and I could keep going on.
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My experience with the L.D. flap recon have been a lot different. Had the surgery 2017, the recovery was fairly easy, I started stretches and light weight training as soon as my Dr. gave the ok. I'm happy with the results, it looks good, feels good. I don't feel that it's affected my posture or strength or range of motion. I guess I'm lucky, I had no complications. I do a lot of stretching and strength training, and I was worried that it would affect my workout, but I worked and worked on getting the range of motion and ability that I had before. It does feel a little weird when I do certain weight training machines, the lat muscle, now in front sometimes animates when I'm doing back exercises. But all in all ,I'm happy with it! I'm so sorry to hear some people had bad experiences with it. I can only speak for my own experience. And it's a positive one.
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